Kevin Duffy: UConn in Bridgeport should be more than just a basketball game

Published 8:38 pm, Monday, October 7, 2013

BRIDGEPORT -- A few minutes past 10 a.m. Monday, UConn basketball formalized its partnership with Webster Bank Arena. The city leaders, university officials and even the good ole' school mascot, Jonathan the Husky, joined together for a celebratory press conference.

Here's what else happened in Bridgeport Monday morning: Two men in their early 20s were charged with robbing a Chinese deliveryman at gunpoint. That news broke around 9:30 a.m. An hour later, city police recovered an SUV taken in a Sunday carjacking, an incident that reportedly left a Norwalk man with stab wounds on his face and neck.

So, simultaneously, it was a historic day at the Webster Bank Arena and just another day in Bridgeport.

You don't need me to tell you that this city has problems. The high school graduation rate, while increasing, is still painfully low. The latest data shows a 66 percent graduation rate for Bridgeport public school students in the class of 2012, roughly 20 percentage points below the state average. At Bassick High, only 47.9 percent earned high school diplomas. I've been told that Bridgeport's drug scene and gang activity isn't as prevalent as it used to be, yet Monday is still considered a typical news day, isn't it?

We can all agree on this: Kids here need role models. They need role models from within the community, and they could sure use a positive, respected voice from the outside.

We can agree on this, too: There are some terrific role models at UConn, some powerful speakers with inspiring stories that could resonate with Bridgeport youth. We can all agree that the partnership between the Huskies and Bridgeport shouldn't be limited to a single basketball game in December.

"It would go a long way to have Kevin Ollie and some of the (UConn) players to talk to the kids," said Terry O'Connor, executive director of the Cardinal Shehan Center. "The kids relate to them."

To his credit, Ollie has already engaged with the Hartford community, delivering on his go-to slogan, "It's about more than basketball." He's addressed violence and bullying at schools. In his first year as UConn's men's basketball coach, one of the state's most visible positions, Ollie has prioritized community outreach.

"There's a lot of initiative we're trying to put out right now in Hartford," he said. "Just telling (the kids) there are different things you need to do -- just respecting yourself and respecting others and going to school and getting your education."

Hartford, of course, is comparable to Bridgeport: crime, drugs, a certain level of hopelessness that can permeate from generation-to-generation. Hartford is also closer to UConn. It has long been considered the school's second home, which is completely fair.

But since Warde Manuel took over as athletic director in March 2012, there has been a push to expand the brand, to touch all corners of the state. A pair of basketball games in Bridgeport is a good start. And thanks to private donations, 100 city kids will witness the UConn men against Eastern Washington on Dec. 28. It'll be an awesome experience for them, most of whom have never attended a UConn game (at a summer basketball camp, only four of 130 campers said they had).

It'll be even better if they get the Hartford treatment, too.

"It's definitely something I'd like to do and something I look forward to doing down the road," Ollie said. "We'll meet some people who are doing some beautiful things down here. Maybe we can connect to them and not try to reinvent the wheel, but just make it better with our presence."

"It's important to us," added Manuel. "It's important for us to be in the community outside of sports."

This isn't to say Bridgeport's violence is UConn's problem. Far from it.

It's not to say that Bridgeport has zero success stories, either. The city produces college scholarship recipients -- athletic or otherwise. The kids at the Shehan Center have been exposed to the Fairfield University basketball players, role models in their own right.

No disrespect to Fairfield, but UConn is on a whole different level. Kevin Ollie and his players are statewide celebrities and nationally recognized figures. If a kid hears Ollie's advice or Shabazz Napier's story, I'd imagine he'd be more inclined to listen. That's why this is important.

"You're blessed to be a blessing to others," Ollie said. "You're doing something wrong if you're not contributing beyond yourself. That makes me complete as a head basketball coach."

It seems there's mutual interest in making this more than a single-game affair. Ollie wants to help in the community. Manuel does, too. He considers it a responsibility. And O'Connor, as you'd expect, would love to host a clinic or speaking engagement at the Shehan Center (although, per NCAA rules, coaches cannot address students in 7th grade or above).

Now, we need to be realistic about this whole thing: A speech from Ollie or a clinic from Napier and Ryan Boatright won't work miracles for the city. Neither will a basketball game. And just because the Huskies are playing a single game in Bridgeport doesn't make it their second home. UConn-in-Bridgeport will be infrequent, but that doesn't mean it can't be positive.

If UConn returns after Dec. 28, if Ollie brings some players and delivers a message for success, maybe it'll open a few eyes. Maybe it'll even impact a few lives.

If that happens, consider UConn-to-Bridgeport a win for everyone involved.